Red Sox: Top five most underrated players in team history
By Drew Athans
Trot Nixon
The quintessential “Dirt Dog” of the late 1990s/early 2000s Red Sox, Trot Nixon was the team’s longtime right fielder, spending the first ten years of his twelve-year career with the Red Sox. First coming up in 1996, Nixon became a regular in 1998 and was an integral part of the Red Sox teams that made it to the ALCS in 1999 and 2003 and won the World Series in 2004.
During his ten seasons in Boston between 1996 and 2006, Nixon hit .301 with 133 home runs and 523 RBI. His best seasons were 2001 (.280 BA, 27 HR, 88 RBI), 2002 (.256 BA, 24 HR, 94 RBI), and 2003 (.306 BA, 28 HR, 87 RBI).
He was just as solid in the postseason, especially in the 2004 World Series run when he hit .271 with one home run and eight RBI across the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series.
He was also a tough and hard-nosed player, giving 100% all the time when he was on the field and playing through a variety of aches and pains and injuries. He appeared in 120 or more games between 1999 and 2003 and again in 2005 and 2006 (he missed all but 48 games in 2004 due to a herniated disc). He was a solid defensive outfielder with a career .983 fielding percentage and only committed 33 errors throughout his career.
After leaving the Red Sox following the 2006 season, Nixon spent one season each with the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets before wrapping up his career. He’s still remembered fondly by fans who saw him play and doesn’t get his due as a core piece of those great Red Sox teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and especially as a member of the 2004 team that changed the team’s fortunes forever.